Battle Wounds
by sometimesiwritethings
Summary: Emmy thought her life was starting to get back to normal, but then the dead started walking. She finds solace in the camp and a certain redneck. Eventual Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

"_It's somewhere down there Jack, you're just not looking hard enough!"_

_Jack's head popped up from under the cab "Come out here and look for it yourself then!"_

"_It's freezing, there's no way in hell I'm getting out"_

"_Meter's running," the cab driver informed me, receiving one of my better death glares._

"_Well then I guess you're going to have to do without a phone", Jack taunted. I gave my best puppy dog face and with an eye roll Jack proceeded to search under the car for my precious iPhone. _

"_Honestly the puppy dog look doesn't… "_

_For a second Jack's crouching figure was illuminated in a bright light, his messy hair turning white, and a dull glare coming off of his leather jacket. Then the sickening sound of metal colliding with metal filled my mind, inertia pulling me back into the seat, then thrusting me forward with the sound of more crunching. The center console of the cab approaching my face was the last thing I would remember. _

XXXXXXXX

I woke up with a loud banging on my front door.

"Come on Em, open up!" came a familiar voice. I slowly peeled myself out of bed and grabbed some shorts to throw on. I glanced at my phone and saw that I had four missed calls from Heidi.

"The hell Heidi?" I yelled towards the door that was about to bust out of the frame. As I whipped it open Heidi almost took me down rushing in the house and closing the door behind her.

"Come on we gotta go, Em! Pack your stuff!" Heidi yelled as she ran past me towards my bedroom. I entered my room to her grabbing clothes and throwing them on the bed.

"Quit standing there and get a bag for your stuff!" Heidi demanded, her sweet southern accent turned tough.

"What's going on Heidi?" I yelled as I grabbed her by the arms, probably a little too hard.

"I told you to watch the news! You're like a child Em!" Heidi looked at me exasperated. Heidi isn't one to freak out and follow the masses like most people in the small Georgia town. Heidi was the one friend I had stuck with, because of her laid back attitude towards everything, which went against the gossipy and prissy standards that the women of this town held. "What Annabelle was talking about the other day? It's happening, Em, right now." I would have burst out laughing if it hadn't been for the deadly serious look on Heidi's face.

"Heidi, that's crazy, you know Annabelle is certifiably insane," I reassured her. I was more concerned about Heidi's mental state than the idea of zombies walking the planet.

"Look out the window Emmy," Heidi stated as she shoved me towards it. I pulled down one of the shades and looked out onto the street. At first there was nothing out of the ordinary. My piece of shit car pulled up next to the house and one of the neighbors walking, or more so stumbling around. I watched closer and saw the fat man walk with an extremely unhealthy looking limp, his ankle turned at an odd angle as he repeatedly stepped on it. Meanwhile Heidi had turned the TV onto the news channel.

_"Citizens are being advised to immediately head towards Atlanta, where the National Guard has set up a refuge center. Do not stop for anyone that appears bitten or shows flu like symptoms." _Heidi flicked the TV off and looked to me.

"Em, this is real. We gotta go. Now." Heidi walked out of the room, and I just sat on my bed staring at the now blank TV screen.

_This is all a dream. Just a fucked up, realistic dream._ I looked at my hands and waited to wake up, but when nothing happened I decided it was time to take action, dream or not. I grabbed a duffle from the closet and started piling clothes into it as fast as I could. I could hear Heidi in the kitchen ripping open cabinets and drawers, doing god knows what. I grabbed the essential toiletries from the bathroom and shoved them in the bag. I grabbed all my pill bottles that I deemed necessary on a day-to-day basis and put the precious cargo in the outside pocket of the duffle. I dressed myself in normal jeans and a tank, and threw my brown curly hair into a sloppy ponytail, leaving my bangs hanging messily in my face.

I sat down to put on my beat up old Converse as Heidi walked in carrying a giant trash bag filled with nameless clanks and clatter. "Did you get everything?" Heidi questioned me, a mothering tone to her voice. Heidi was five years younger than me, but she still treated me like I was twelve.

"I guess. I mean what does one pack for the zombie apocalypse?" I tried, trying to ease the strange mood that hung in the air.

"Good thinking!" Heidi dashed out of the room and I could hear her digging around in the kitchen again. "Where do you keep your gun, Emmy?" I scoffed at the ridiculous question.

"Not everyone here keeps their daddy's shotgun by their bed," I yelled, referencing the time I found a massive shotgun sitting by her bed at one of her parties and freaked out. I brought my stuff out to the kitchen.

"You seriously have nothing?" she said as she emptied all my sharp knives onto the counter.

"No, I don't, I happen to have a lot of faith in a nice, sturdy, locked door," I joked. She looked at me like I was an idiot and proceeded to look for something to put the knives in. I pointed to the Tupperware cabinet and she whipped it open and grabbed one, throwing the knives into it.

"Anything we might be forgetting?" Heidi asked as she snapped the lid on the knife arsenal.

"I think that's about it," I said, passing many opportunities for poking fun at Heidi, because the look on her face was one of deadly determination.

"Okay, when we go outside, go straight to the car," the authority in her voice was unmistakable.

"Yes, sir," I said as she slowly cracked the door open and looked out.

"Looks clear," she sighed as she began easing her way outside, wielding a knife like the smallest ninja ever to threaten the streets of Monroe, Georgia. We made our way to her dad's old beat up truck without drawing the attention of the limping fat man making his way towards the end of the street. We threw the bags in the bed of the truck and jumped in the car. Heidi turned the key, resulting in the deafening roar of the ancient engine starting up, and she shifted the car in drive and peeled away from the house I've called home for almost three years. I dared to look in the side mirror to see the fat zombie turning its head towards the car and limping after it.

"Heidi, Atlanta's that way," I stated as she began driving in the wrong direction.

"I know, I'm just gonna run home and get my shotgun," she said looking at me.

The car ride to her secluded house was spent in silence, Heidi's hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as I fiddled with the radio, trying to find a music station that wasn't overtaken with news of the zombie apocalypse. We passed the occasional infected person, some walking around aimlessly, others gnashing their teeth and growling like monsters at the passing car.

We drove down the bumpy dirt road that took us to the house that Heidi's father left her when he passed away. I knew Heidi had loved the old man, but she put up a tough front when it came to actually talking about him.

"I'm gonna run in and out real quick, okay?" She informed me.

"Heidi I can handle myself. I'm coming in too." I had enough of her treating me like her little sister.

She looked me over for a moment, then seemed to come to some conclusion and gave me a brief nod, and opened the car door to the muggy Georgia air.

We made our way foreword, her crouched down and holding the knife above her head like she was in some Jackie Chan movie, and me moving slowly behind her without anything to defend myself with.

She opened the door that was already unlocked; the trust that this girl held in her neighbors always baffled me, and we moved into the entryway of her home.

"Just the gun and the shells, Heidi. Then lets get the fuck outta here, okay?" I had become extremely uncomfortable now that the reality of the situation was settling in.

I followed her to her bedroom, and watched the door as she grabbed the gun and the shells out of her nightstand drawer. I rolled my eyes as she put the bullets in and cocked the gun, like the little thing would actually know what to do with a gun.

We started to make our way out of the house, pausing when Heidi stopped to look at the old photograph of her mother and father.

"Come on, Heidi," I grabbed her shoulder, and we made our way outside. We got in the truck and started our way down the dirt road, Heidi looking out the rearview mirror the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sadly I don't own the walking dead or any of the characters on the show**

"Emmy, you are on crack, that's not true," Heidi glared at me defiantly.

"Heidi, I'm serious, I know someone," I responded. We were sprawled out in her truck in a complete gridlock trying to get into Atlanta. "Tom Cruise is gay, Heidi."

"But _Mission Impossible_, _Top Gun, _Katie Holmes. There's just no way." Heidi stared off into the forest that lined the highway. We were about fifteen minutes outside Atlanta until the slow going traffic came to a complete stand still. Heidi and I had resorted to celebrity gossip in order to pass the time.

Heidi held her hand out for the chips I was snacking on, and I gave them up. Heidi had stocked the trash bag she had taken with every kind of food I had in my kitchen that wasn't perishable, the girl even managed to find my secret stash of Sour Patch Kids.

"How long do you think this can last?" I aimlessly wondered, not knowing Heidi would take it into her own hands.

"There's a cop right there, let's find out." And with that she jumped out of the car after the big burly man in a cop uniform up ahead.

I quickly slipped my shoes back on and ran after her, nearly knocking over a small, meek woman with her little girl in the process. I mouthed 'sorry' as I ran up to meet Heidi, not wanting to miss out on any information. I stood in between Heidi and an older looking man in dorky floppy hat.

"…Outta get off the road, away from this mess until the highway clears up," the cop was addressing the group.

"There's a quarry not far from here," the old man stated, taking out a crumpled up map and placing it on the hood of a car. The two looked it over while the rest of the group the cop had gathered stoop there awkwardly.

"It'll do have to do for tonight," the cop sighed. "Lori!" he yelled towards a woman and child that I assumed were his family. They approached the group and he began explaining to all of us what his plan was.

"Tonight we'll head up here," he said pointing on the map towards the quarry, "and start to gather our bearings, that way when this whole thing clears up in Atlanta, we wont be far and the National Guard can reach us," he stated with authority. "Y'all can follow me up," and with a reassuring nod, he walked back to his car as the group dispersed.

"Should we go with him?" I asked Heidi as we walked back to the pickup.

"I think he's our best bet. He is a cop," Heidi explained. She started the car and looked to me. "You in?"

"Yeah, let's go," I agreed. Heidi shifted the truck into drive and began pulling around in the dirt beside the highway after the cop and the old man in his RV.

The caravan slowly wound their way to the quarry, stopping at a wide clearing surrounded by trees. Everyone timidly got out of their vehicles, making their way into the clearing.

"Alright, looks like this is it y'all. Let's start setting up camp before it gets dark," the cop addressed the group surrounding him.

Heidi and I looked at each other, realizing that we had nothing in the form of camping gear.

"Heidi, we don't have a tent, flashlights, anything." I looked at her hopelessly. We both looked around the camp, watching as all the others set up their tents.

"We could sleep in the bed of the truck," she began. I caught sight of two intimidating men, true Georgian rednecks by the looks of it, setting up two separate tents quite a ways from the rest of the group.

"We could borrow," I offered, gesturing to their seemingly spare tent. Heidi watched as they worked.

"Go for it, Emmy. Ten bucks says you come back empty handed," Heidi held out her palm to make a bet.

I gave her hand a brief shake, "I swear, you have a gambling problem," I said as I walked away, making my way towards the outside of the camp, where the two men were setting up.

"I just know when it's an easy win," Heidi yelled after me.

Pressing forward with Heidi's challenge in the back of my head, I made my way into the area the men had designated as their own. The older looking one straightening as he saw me, looking me up and down.

"Can I help ya," he bluntly asked, still taking me in with his predatory eyes. The other one looked up and stood.

"Hi, I'm Emmy," I began awkwardly, holding out my hand.

"Look at that Daryl! We're already makin' friends," He chuckled, ignoring my hand and looking over his shoulder to the younger more attractive man.

"You see me and my friend," I said gesturing back to Heidi, who was talking to a girl around her age with blonde hair, "seemed to have forgotten a tent."

"And?" the bulky one stepped forward a bit, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well I noticed that you have two, and was wondering if we could borrow it for the night," I became more and more disheartened as the seconds ticked by.

"What's in it for us?" He looked down at me. He didn't exactly tower over me, but his menacing build stood there like a rock in front of me.

"A trade?" I suggested, racking my brain for anything they could possibly want from what we had, and drawing a blank.

"What ya got?" he squinted his eyes.

"What do you need?" I asked, knowing that these men didn't need anything of mine.

"Well let's have a look at what ya got." He gestured for me to lead him towards our truck.

Heidi watched us walk to the car with concern etched on her tiny features.

"This is it," I said, motioning towards the bed of the truck, which consisted of a few bags of Heidi's, my duffle, and the food bag. He greedily reached for the duffle and began digging through my clothes and toiletries. He closed the flap and made his way to the side pockets before I could protest. With a swift pull he opened the zipper, and the look that crossed his face made my heart sink into my stomach.

He looked up at me, then back down, like he had come across buried treasure, or maybe a pocket full of bottles of pills.

He went through them one by one, Heidi watching from the center of the camp, listing them as he went. "Ambien, Prozac, Valium, Xanax, don't know wha' the fuck these are," he paused to look me over once more, "Damn woman what's goin' on in that little head of yours?"

I watched as he pulled out the Oxycodone like he struck gold. A small smile lit up his face, and I recognized the look of a recreational drug user.

He set it forcefully down on the bed of the truck, "This, is what you pay to 'borrow' my tent." I looked at the little bottle of painkillers that used to save me from all the aches and pains that that one fateful night caused. I sighed and gave a curt nod, thankful that he had wanted the bottle of the least value to me.

"Come and git the tent," he took off, pocketing the bottle, with me in pursuit.

"Darylina! Pack up that tent, this here thing's gonna use it." He stated with authority.

"The hell?" Daryl began, looking at me like I was a minor annoyance. "What for?"

"S'worth it, trust me," and the hick began taking down the tent that Daryl had only just succeeded in raising. Daryl gave me a swift glare, scoffed, and marched away.

When the tent was clumsily put in a heap on the ground, the man just nudged it with his food towards me. He simply watched as I gathered it, laughing when I dropped a stake off the pile in my arms.

"I never got your name," I began, once I had the bundle held tightly in my arms.

"Name's Merle. That little pussy of a brother is Daryl," he nodded his head towards the taller, leaner redneck.

"Well, thank you, I guess." I said as I backed away.

Heidi was waiting for me near the truck when I returned with the tent.

"What'd you give him?" she tentatively began.

"Nothing of yours, okay?" she was already eyeing the duffle pocket.

"You alright?" she asked with a concerned look.

"I'm fine, Heidi. Let's find a place to set up," I took off towards the center of the camp, where the more civilized people looked to be setting up.

We picked a space next to a young Asian guy named Glenn, closest to the woods that bordered the clearing. As we brought our bags to our tent we made small talk with him, and I immediately took a liking to him, and I could tell that Heidi had too.

That night the group of campers sat around a small fire made by the cop and ate whatever small meal that they could put together as they introduced themselves to each other. The cop's name was Shane, and the woman with him was Lori, her son Carl. Shane explained that Lori was the widow of his fallen best friend, and that he was taking care of her and Carl. The timid woman that I had almost collided with on the highway was named Carol, and her daughter Sophia, her husband, Ed, kept to himself. The young blonde girl was Amy, and her almost identical older sister Andrea. Dale, the older man who had found the quarry, had picked them up off the side of the road after their car broke down. The others were T-dog, Jacqui, Jim, and the Morales family. Daryl and Merle were absent from the circle, and the light in their now shared tent was on.

The chatter slowly died down, and people started retiring for the night. Dale and Shane offering to take watch during the night, just in case any of the 'walkers', as Glenn pegged them, appeared.

I laid down on the cot that Dale had offered me, pulling up the blanket that Morales had given me as Heidi got into her borrowed sleeping bag on the ground, grumbling the whole time.

"How did I end up sleeping on the ground," Heidi began complaining.

"If it weren't for me, we would be sleeping outside with the mosquitoes," I reminded her. We began rehashing the events of the day, stopping when it came to the trade with Merle.

Heidi sighed, "You didn't have to do that, Emmy," she started. "I know you need those pills."

"It's fine Heidi," I reassured her. We grew quiet, me thinking about the outcast, rude rednecks that have already succeeded in worrying the other campers.

"You owe me ten dollars, Heidi." I stated after a few silent minutes.

"Fuck you." was Heidi's nice southern belle response.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own the walking dead**

_ I woke to the steady beeping sound of a heart monitor machine. I slowly peeled my eyes open, squinting in the bright florescent lighting until my eyes adjusted. I looked around the bare room I was in, recognizing the sterile smell that always accompanies a hospital visit._

_I looked down at myself, laying on the hospital bed, feeling a slight pressure on my head. I felt the tug of the IVs as I lifted my arm to feel my head. It had been wrapped, and there were two small strips of medical tape under my left eye. I probed my gauze wrapped forehead and was rewarded with a throbbing pain shooting through my head. With that, the accident came back to me, Jack's crouching figure lighting up, and the collision pushing me forwards._

_ "Jack." I tried, looking around, assuming I had missed him when I had initially scanned the room. My voice was harsh, like I hadn't talked for days. "Jack," I tried a little louder, directing my feeble voice towards the open door. I was slightly disheartened that Jack wasn't there for me when I woke up._

_ When no response came, I started to grow panicked. I sat up, ignoring the now constant throbbing that racked my brain. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I looked away as I ripped the IVs out of my arm. I got up on unsteady legs, feeling the blood trickle down my arm, and made my way towards the door. _

_ I pulled the hospital gown tighter around myself when I saw the doctors and nurses rushing around me. "Excuse me," I grabbed at a nurse. "Can you tell me where my boyfriend is?" She looked at me with confusion in her eyes, but gave me a brief nod and started walking back to the nurses' station. I watched her talk to another nurse, who then flagged down a passing doctor. A feeling of unease spread throughout the pit of my stomach as the three approached me. _

_ "Miss Wilcox," the middle aged doctor tentatively started, moving towards me like I was a ticking time bomb._

_ "Where's Jack," I said forcefully, trying to hide the overwhelming emotions from showing in my voice. He turned and mumbled something to one of the nurses who then took off briskly. _

_ "I think maybe you should sit down," he began leading me back into the room. _

_ "Jack!" I yelled to the hallway, resulting in more than a few stares. I struggled against the doctor as the nurse returned, needle in hand. _

_ "JACK!" I screamed, as she stuck the needle in my arm. I slid down the wall as whatever was in the needle began to take effect. The numb feeling rushing through my body almost allowed me to miss the look of grief riddling the nurse's face. Almost. _

_XXXXXXXX_

I jolted awake, panting. My face was wet with either tears, sweat, or more likely a mixture of the two. I looked over to Heidi, passed out in her sleeping bag. Judging from the faint glow coming from outside, the sun was just barely rising.

I slowly got up off of the creaky cot, my heart beating rapidly with the start of another attack. I made my way to my duffle and opened the pocket, shuffling through the bottles until I reached the Xanax. I popped one in my mouth and sat on the cot, staring at my hands, waiting for the pill to take effect. _It was just a dream. It was just a dream. _

As my breathing returned to normal, my heart started to slow and my head started to clear, I got dressed for the day.

I started unzipping the tent flap, Heidi only turning over in her sleeping bag. I made my way out, taking in the camp in the glowing light of dawn. The campfire was reduced to a smoldering pile, and Dale was sitting in a lawn chair on top of his RV, a rifle lying across his lap. I made my way over to him.

"Early riser?" he asked, motioning for the ladder for me to come up.

"Something like that," I began, taking a seat on the roof next to him. "Anything eventful happen last night?" I asked.

"Nothing to report," he smiled at me. I looked past the camp, taking in the surrounding trees.

"It really is beautiful," I sighed. We sat in silence for a while as the birds began chirping and the sun grew higher.

Movement drew my attention towards the rednecks' area, as Daryl stalked out of the woods, wielding a very dangerous looking crossbow.

"Shane said he left during his watch, must have gone hunting," Dale said, as I took in the little animals that were strewn around Daryl. Dale and I watched as Daryl went into his tent, closing the flap behind him.

Dale had a calming effect on me and soon enough I felt like the dream had never happened. I started make my way back towards the ladder, "I think I'm gonna have a look around the area," I explained, Dale nodded.

As I walked away, Dale called out, "maybe you should be taking something with you," he held up the rifle in example. I nodded and made my way back to the tent, ignoring Heidi's shotgun and looking for our container full of knifes. All my sharp knives were there, which was expected, but the various kinds of sharp objects startled me. Heidi had apparently grabbed anything she thought could inflict pain on something. A screwdriver, a couple forks, and a pizza slicer were just a few of the various items in the big container. I smirked and grabbed the least threatening looking knife, and quietly made my way out of the tent.

I held my knife up to Dale, receiving a smile from the old man, and made my way towards the far end of the camp. I made my way down a little trail, enjoying the peace that the early morning brought.

After a couple minutes, the trees started thinning out, and before I knew it I had come upon the quarry. The water lay flat, looking like a mirror reflecting the clear blue sky. A little rocky beach led to the water, and the rocks of the quarry shot up around the area surrounding the water. It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time. I sat down on the ground and got lost in the view.

Not paying attention as well as I should, I hadn't noticed Daryl sneak up on me. He cleared his throat, and I whipped around, grabbing at the little knife at my side. He was standing a little ways away, but just close enough so that I could see the squirrels hanging around his neck.

"Didn't wanna startle ya," he said gruffly, as he made his way towards the other side of the small beach. He squatted down and began gutting the squirrels. As I watched I grew increasingly nauseous, but was unable to turn away. The ease with which the hunter took care of his kill was so different than the way he acted around the other campers. If I hadn't known what he was doing, it would have been tempting to walk over to him.

I watched him with fascination as he methodically cleaned the squirrels. I was pulled out of my stupor by a grunt, and realized that he was staring back at me, confusion written on his face.

"Sorry," I declared, looking away. We remained like that, him stripping the little animals and me looking out over the water, until the sounds of the camp waking up drifted down to us. I stood up, gave him a brief nod, and made my way back to camp.

Heidi was up and about when I got back, going through our food bag with Glenn and Amy.

"Hey," she looked up at me, "everyone's piling their food together so we can ration it better, is there anything you want to keep before I give it all up?" she asked, eyeing the Sour Patch Kids that were set away from the pile.

I smiled and picked them up, throwing them into our tent. "Thank you, Heidi," I said as I kneeled down with them and began sorting the food.

XXXXXX

That afternoon we took a break from organizing and setting up and I grabbed Heidi and Glenn and led them down the little footpath I had found leading to the quarry. Once we arrived they both stopped their chatter.

Heidi took a deep breath, "Whoa."

The three of us stood there, watching the still water.

"You think the government can sort this whole thing out?" Glenn mused after a few minutes.

After a moment, Heidi responded, "Shane's a cop, and he doesn't even know what's going on."

"I could stand to stay here for a while, with a view like this," I said, and they both nodded their heads in agreement.

XXXXXXX

Lori had assigned Heidi and me the task of babysitting the children, and we were watching them play with each other. Well, Heidi was watching them, I happened to be watching a certain redneck chopping firewood. His arms, exposed by his sleeveless shirt, were bulging and glistening with sweat as he pulled the ax up.

"I never pegged you for a hillbilly humper, but I guess everyone's got their secrets," I jumped and turned to Heidi, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Shut up, Heidi," I turned back towards the kids. "Sophia, Where's Carl?" Sophia only shrugged, and with a sigh I began my third search for the absent boy. I stomped through the trees that edged the camp, finding the child trying to climb a tree. "Carl! I told you stay where I can see you!"

"Sorry, Emmy," he looked down at me from where he was perched, trying to reach the next branch.

"Come down, you're gonna get yourself killed," I reached my arms out to him. He jumped into my arms, elbows flying. I received one directly on my face, and we both toppled to the ground. After a few moments of me rolling around on the ground in pain, we made our way back to the camp.

XXXXXX

That evening, as we all ate our dinner that consisted of canned beans and a surprising contribution of cooked squirrels from Daryl, we talked about our future plans until the government handled the situation. We talked in circles, coming up with no solutions other than to stay put and wait for help.

"Geez what happened to you?" Glenn asked me, pointing to my eye. I looked at Carl, whose mouth had turned into an impish smirk.

"Carl decided to scale a tree, and I tried to catch him. I didn't know he'd come at me throwing 'bows," I looked at the mischievous boy who was starting to laugh along with a few others of the camp, receiving a glare from Lori.

Glenn was leaning in, examining my now black eye. "Where'd you get that scar from?" he innocently asked.

I touched the little white scar that went down my cheekbone, "Car accident," I responded, hoping that people missed the hesitation in my voice. There was an awkward silence as Glenn leaned back and looked to the ground.

"You think that's bad," Heidi began, pulling up her shirt to reveal the long scar that adorned her side. "I got this baby falling off a tractor when I was twelve," she explained as everyone gasped. With that there seemed to be a competition as to who had gotten the worst injury. I looked to Heidi, mouthing 'thank you'. She smiled and nodded, and turned her attention to T-dog's account of his bike riding accident.

XXXXX

"You don't see it?" Heidi asked me. We were sitting on the ground in our tent, after leaving the campfire to go to bed.

"I mean I see it, but she just lost her husband. There's no way she would be with his best friend," we had been talking about the rest of the group, when Heidi had brought up Lori and Shane.

"I bet you ten bucks they end up sleeping together," Heidi looked at me, dead serious.

"You can't actually think you're going to win that bet?" I asked as I got up to get into my cot.

"I can and I do," she said matter of factly, slipping into her sleeping bag. As I pulled the blanket aside to get into the cot there was a clanking noise of glass hitting glass. I pulled the blanket back and lying in the middle of the cot was a full bottle of tequila, whiskey, and a slightly less full bottle of vodka. I turned to Heidi, who was just sitting there smiling at me.

"Heidi, did you actually bring these," I laughed.

"Hey, it can't be all work and no fun," she explained, throwing her arms out. I stuffed the bottles into my duffle, still smiling as I got into bed and turned off the lantern.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own the walking dead.**

"_Stop Jack!" I yelled._

_He laughed, "Come back, I swear It's gone," I peeked around the doorframe to see him walking to the box that served as our temporary trashcan. _

"_I swear, if you..." I began, emerging from around the corner, but was cut off by Jack running at me, brandishing the tissue that contained the remains of one very big spider. I ran back into the room that would now be our bedroom and closed the door, locking it. _

"_You're such a dick!" I yelled through the door, feigning anger. In reality I was reveling in the sound of his obnoxious laugh filling what was now our new apartment. _

"_Emmy. Please. I'm sorry." He gasped in between laughing. I smiled to myself, listening to the boy's laughter subsiding._

_I slowly unlocked the door and peeked through the crack. Jack held up his hands, both empty of the deadly tissue. Jack pushed the door open wider and collected me in a bear hug, his contagious grin spreading to my face. _

"_If we have spiders here, there's going to be some serious problems," I said into his chest. _

XXXXXXX

My eyes opened slowly, trying to stay in the dream for as long as possible. As it slipped out of my grasp, I resolved to get up. Heidi was still asleep so I grabbed my little knife and left the tent.

I looked up to see T-dog stationed on top of the RV, gun across his lap. I smiled to him, and made my way to the quarry. It was early again, the only people awake were myself, T-dog, judging by the sounds coming from his tent, Shane, and the birds that were chirping.

The trees opened up to the quarry and I made my way to the rocky beach. I sat down, pulling my legs into my chest. I closed my eyes, imagining Jack sitting next to me, seeing the breathtaking view.

When I opened my eyes no one was there, and the loneliness washed over me. A part of me even hoped Daryl would show up again, just so I could watch him once more. When no one came, I got up and made the short trip back to camp.

A few more people had woken up. Lori was out and talking to Shane. _Point one for Heidi_, I thought. Jim was up and assembling a tarp under a tree a little ways away from camp. I could only guess that Jim was attempting to fix the shower problem. The only shower that the campers had was the one in Dale's RV, and that was a little precarious for all of us to share. I sighed at the new normal of being dirty and sweaty all day. I sat down by the fire pit, waiting for more people to get up to help with breakfast, when I heard footsteps approaching me.

I turned to see Merle striding towards me, arms full with what appeared to be dirty laundry. When he reached me he dropped he hillbilly attire on the ground and smirked.

"What's this?" I asked, gesturing to the pile of sleeveless shirts, jeans, and various other dirty clothes.

"ya new job, seein' how ya ain't doin' nothin' else," he stated.

"Well, since it's your laundry, maybe that's your job," I replied, with a bit of an attitude.

"Daryl's too," he corrected, "and I thought since ya were 'borrowing' my tent, ya might wanna do it," he answered, the threat in his voice.

I swallowed as I realized what he was implying. I gave a terse nod, and he walked away laughing.

XXXXX

Heidi was beyond pissed as I gathered our laundry, adding it to the pile of redneck laundry that was already in the basket Lori had lent me.

"Give it back to the asshole, Emmy," she demanded.

"It's for the tent, Heidi," I countered.

"He can't take it from us, Shane wouldn't let him," Heidi speculated.

"Are you kidding me, Heidi? It's Merle. Do you think he gives two fucks about what Shane says?" She didn't have a comeback for that, and with that I picked up the washboard that Carol had given me and stalked out of the tent.

"You should spit on their clothes or something!" she called after me.

XXXXXX

When I got back Heidi and Glenn were in a heated debate. I began hanging the wet clothes up on a tree to dry, listening to their ridiculous argument.

"How can you like spaghetti sauce, but hate pizza because of the red sauce?" Heidi stated incredulously.

"It's different!" Glenn insisted. Heidi only rolled her eyes.

"You guys seen Carol?" I asked cutting Heidi off. Glenn looked thankful. Heidi only pointed to where Carol's family's tent was, before continuing harassing Glenn.

I grabbed the washboard and made my way towards their tent.

"Carol?" I called, disheartened when I only saw Ed, eating his breakfast alone.

"The fuck you want with her?" he demanded, sending a chill down my spine.

"Can you tell her thanks," I said quickly, setting the washboard down by their tent before retreating. Ed eyes sent daggers at me before he spat at the ground and went back to his food.

I walked away, an uneasy feeling settling into the pit of my stomach.

XXXXXXXX

By mid-afternoon the scorching Georgian sun had dried the clothes that lay out on the tree, and I began gathering Merle's and Daryl's into the basket.

"Em, Jacqui's asking for you, she's by the water," Heidi told me, striding up to me, a smile on her face.

"Oh, okay," I said, continuing to gather the backwoods boy's laundry.

"I can finish this," Heidi offered, grabbing some of their clothes.

"Okay, thanks," I replied, eyeing Heidi with suspicion as I walked towards the quarry.

As I emerged from the trees I saw that no one was there. I stood on the beach for a few seconds in confusion, before going back up to camp to look for Jacqui.

Jacqui was talking to Andrea, watching Carl and Sophia playing.

"Hey Jacqui, what did you need?" I asked, approaching the two.

Jacqui's brows drew together, "What? Honey I don't need anything," she smiled, confusion still in her eyes.

"But…" I began, looking back to Heidi, who sitting with Glenn near our tent, "Okay," I responded, confused. I walked away awkwardly, feeling Andrea's eyes on my back.

"Heidi, what the hell?" I asked, sitting down with her and Glenn, "She didn't ask for me," I stated defiantly.

"Oops, sorry," was all I got out of Heidi. She nudged the basket filled with the hillbillies' clothes, "Here."

I looked at her; still wary of the way she was acting, and lifted myself off the ground. I grabbed the basket and made my way over to the secluded tent.

Daryl was perched on an overturned bucket, his crossbow in his lap. He looked up from it and took me in.

"Here's your laundry," I uttered, setting it down on the ground and turned away. I heard a quiet 'thanks' as I walked away.

XXXXXXX

Glenn, Heidi, and I were sitting on the ground, watching the sun dip between the trees. We had been talking for almost an hour and I had discovered that I would have liked Glenn even before any of this happened. He was funny in a self-depreciating way, was genuinely nice, and was really easy to talk to.

I could tell that Heidi was really taking a liking to him as well, judging by the way she was leaning towards him and laughing at all of his jokes. I felt like I was in high school again, Heidi's blonde ponytail bouncing as she laughed.

I leaned back on my hands and looked up to the sunset, wondering where all my old high school friends were right now, or any of my old friends at that. I didn't really have any friends anymore besides Heidi, and I liked it that way. I was civilized to the other few waitresses at the restaurant we worked at, but it was just too much work to be more than coworkers with them.

_Heidi is all I have_, I thought suddenly, looking at the petite thing. She looked like the stereotypical southern girl. She had the blonde hair and blue eyes and said y'all frequently, but that was as close as she came to a 'Georgia peach'. She didn't have a bible in her house, she swore in front of old people and children, and rolled her eyes too much. I didn't know if she had always been that way or had turned that way over time.

I was virtually the exact opposite of Heidi. I stood a whole head taller than her with brown hair and eyes. I always felt out of place and awkward beside her when we went out. She would gather all of the attention of the room and I would sit besides her, feeling the light that Heidi practically radiated.

I was lost in my thoughts when a shadow covered me, and I looked to see Heidi and Glenn staring up at the figure behind me. I turned around and looked up to see Daryl towering above me, a small smirk on his face.

"I don' think these are mine," he said, tossing a pair of panties on my lap.

_Not just any pair_, I realized, the mortification creeping up my neck and onto my cheeks. They were the extremely lacy and sheer black ones that had been thrown hastily into the duffle without thought. I looked back up to Daryl, humiliated, as he turned to walk away.

I turned back to our little circle to see Heidi doubled over laughing and Glenn on the verge of breaking. _It had to be this pair_, I thought, dying inside. They weren't even dirty before; I looked to Heidi as the realization hit me.

"You did this didn't you?" I asked in disbelief.

Heidi's hysterics stopped at once as her face went straight and she looked away, muttering "No," unconvincingly.

"You suck," I said, pointing at her and getting up to put the evidence away. Now it was Glenn who burst out laughing, slapping Heidi on the back.

XXXXXX

Heidi and I sat in our tent after our delicious and nutritious meal of ramen. The silence hung in the air. I wasn't mad at her, I was just making her suffer for the embarrassment she caused me. I could feel her summing up the courage to apologize, something she wasn't good at.

"Em," she began tentatively, "I'm sorry."

I turned to her "You had to pick those?"

"It was too tempting," she shrugged, a smile playing at her lips.

"They weren't even in the wash, it was obvious," I raised my eyebrows, "I thought you were better than that."

"Shit," Heidi mumbled, realizing her mistake. I got into the bed, waiting for her to get in hers to turn off the lantern.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, until Heidi spoke, "At least now the redneck thinks you wear sexy underwear."

"Gee thanks, Heidi."

XXXXXXX

_A lot of people came to see me that first week. People that were my friends. People I couldn't even look at without feeling the pity emitting from them. My hospital room was littered with flowers, cards, balloons, and teddy bears. 'get well soon' they said, or 'feel better'. The worst had to be 'I'm sorry for your loss'._

_I stared at a balloon floating around the room in the draft caused by the air conditioning. It seemed that the thermostat was eternally set to arctic temperatures. _

_There was a soft knock at the door, and one of the nurses who helped stick me with the needle when I had my little meltdown, came in. "You have visitors" she said smiling. Without my consent she opened the door wider and in walked the two people I wanted to see least. _

"_Sweetie!" my mom gushed, rushing to my side and grabbing my slack hand. My dad cautiously moved through the doorframe, and the nurse closed the door behind them. _

_My mom just held my hand sobbing while my dad watched with his hands in his pockets. The tension in the room was so thick I was almost drowning in it. _

_The woman looked at my face, taking in the bandage and all the little gashes around it, and frowned. I sat there, unmoving. _

"_Oh honey," she sighed, pushing my hair back. "why didn't you call?" she asked, her eyes drifting up to the bandage more than once. _

_I shrugged, scared that if I opened my mouth I would scream. _

"_Margaret," my father started, nodding to her as she turned to him._

"_Oh, yes," she turned back to me, "Honey, your father and I were talking, and we think that it's best you come back home when all this mess is over." She smiled at her grand plan._

"_Mess?" I asked, the first words to her catching her off guard. _

"_Sweetie, you can't take care of yourself like this alone," she began backtracking, "you're only 22," she explained, as if I was a toddler._

"_I'm tired," I reached for the button to call the nurse._

"_It's time you come home, Emmy," my father said forcefully. My mother turned to look at him, scared to be caught in the crossfire between us. _

"_Get. Out." I uttered. _

"_Emmy, sweetie," she began, taking my hand into hers._

"_GET OUT!" this time I did scream, as the nurse rushed in. _

XXXXXXX

I woke up, my chest heaving, and looked around. Heidi was sitting upright turned towards me.

"You okay Em?" she asked sleepily.

"Ya, sorry," I breathed.

"S'okay," she mumbled, before falling back down.

I sat up, wide awake, waiting for the attack. My heartbeat was loud and fast, but it didn't feel like it was going to burst from my chest, like it normally did.

I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so I grabbed my crushed pack of Camels and my lighter and worked my way out of the tent, my legs feeling like jello. I plopped down on the log, looking to Shane standing on the RV, rifle at the ready. I couldn't see him well in the dark, but I assumed he probably heard me scream or do whatever I did to wake Heidi, because he didn't say anything or ask any questions. I wondered at the time, looking up to see the moon far off and the sky filled with more stars than I could remember.

I lit a cigarette, ignoring my shaking hands.

I dragged in deep, taking the smoke into my lungs, imagining the nicotine moving to all my nerves and bones, calming my trembling body. The campfire was almost dead, a stubborn ember glowing brightly. I rested my head in my hand, hating how my mind continued to race while my body was so tired.

As usual I didn't hear him before he cleared his throat, and I turned to see him standing there with his crossbow thrown across his shoulder. I gave him a small smile as he moved closer. I was thankful for the dark as the embarrassment came back to me, spreading to my cheeks.

"What are ya doin' up this early?" Daryl asked, and if I wasn't mistaken I saw concern cross his eyes.

"I had a bad dream," I said lamely, smiling weakly. _If he only knew the extent of it_. "You?" I asked.

"Gonna go huntin'" he explained as he sat down on the log next to me. "Didn't know ya smoked," he said, staring at the pack sitting between us.

"I've been rationing them," I explained, embarrassed. I was taken aback by the fact that the socially challenged hick was talking to me. We sat there in silence for a beat, and then I reached for the pack of Camels.

"Here, you want one?" I offered. He gave me a quick once over, and after a moment he took the pack from my hands. I handed him the lighter, our fingers brushing slightly.

"Thanks" he said handing them back to me. We sat there smoking in silence that normally would have been awkward, but only seemed natural in the quiet darkness. I was thankful for the company in what would normally be a lonely activity for me.

When mine was out, I stubbed it on the log and threw it in the smoldering remains of the fire. I wasn't ready to go back to my tent, so I sat next to the perplexing man and looked at the glowing coals. When Daryl flicked his cigarette into the fire I thought he would get up to leave, but he remained on the log.

I could feel the words working their way around inside him, and waited for them.

"Sorry 'bout Merle," he looked to me, his gaze unfaltering, "He's a real asshole sometimes."

I was left stunned by his words as he grabbed the crossbow and left, stalking into the trees.


	5. Chapter 5

**I wish I could say I own the walking dead, but I can't… **

We had been at the camp for almost a week now, and we were starting to run low on supplies. What I had thought was a lot of food that first day, quickly diminished into next to nothing as the whole camp split the food. Daryl's hunting was helpful, but hardly so. There were a few squirrels to go around every once in a while, maybe even the odd rabbit, but I couldn't deny that I was starting to feel the never ending pangs of hunger.

It was then that Glenn offered to go on a supply run. Glenn, Shane, T-dog, Morales, and Dale were all huddled around a flimsy map that Dale had produced. I watched Heidi watch them, concern etching her face.

"He'll be alright," I reassured her, placing a hand on her arm. Heidi stiffened, plastering on a fake smile as she turned to me.

"I'm not worried," she said, unconvincingly.

The brothers decided to make an appearance then, Merle stalking up into the circle while Daryl held back from the group.

"What we got here?" ask Merle crudely.

"Glenn's going to go on a supply run," Dale said, looking over Merle apprehensively.

"Well whaddya know, the China man is useful," Merle looked to his brother laughing. Daryl remained still, his face unreadable. "Well, I'm coming," Merle stated, daring anyone to disagree. I looked to Daryl, wondering if he would offer to go as well, but only briefly saw the confusion cross his face before he swiftly turned and strode off towards their tent.

The entire camp was caught off guard by Merle's statement, wondering about his motives.

Shane stammered for a moment, then collected himself. "Merle, this is just a quick in and out. One man should do the job," he explained, the nervousness plain on his face.

"Ya think tha lil' guy can handle 'imself out there alone?" Merle questioned. The group paused, taking in the validity of Merle's declaration.

"I'll be fine," Glenn said forcefully, a little bit offended by the group's reaction, "just a quick in and out, remember?"

"What if something goes wrong?" Dale turned to him, "You'll need someone to back you up."

Glenn looked Merle up and down skeptically, and then looked to Shane, trying to silently convey his doubt of the man's intentions, and failing.

Merle noticed the transaction and scoffed, annoyed, but stood his ground.

"I'll come too," T-Dog offered. Merle and Glenn both turned to him, with looks of annoyance and gratefulness.

"Okay," Shane exhaled. "So here's the plan," he said, and the group of men turned to the map again.

Heidi turned to me, her face a mix of confusion and worry. I touched her reassuringly on the shoulder as I started to walk away, "Come help."

Heidi followed me down to the water, carrying the basket full of the collective laundry of Glenn, the redneck brothers, and us. I had the washboard and soap in a bucket. We began working over the clothes, Heidi bitching about women's rights the whole time.

We began our usual chitchat, discussing various important things, like if Velveeta is real cheese, whether the illuminati have anything to do with this whole end of the world thing, and Heidi's crush on Glenn.

"I do NOT have the hots for him, Emmy!" Heidi declared, a little too defensively.

"He's different from the total assholes you usually go for, but hey, I guess in the circumstances were in, he's fair game."

Heidi began another rebuttal, but then changed her method of countering. "At least he's not a socially awkward hick," she looked at me smirking.

"That's true," I said, feigning a lack of agitation. I couldn't ignore that a part of me got defensive of Daryl, as embarrassing as it was to admit to myself.

Heidi stood up, "I'm gonna go make sure Glenn hasn't left," she began to walk from the beach. "not because I like the guy," she paused, as I burst out laughing.

I was finishing the wash, only a few more articles of clothing left, when I heard the steps behind me. Thinking it was Heidi; I simply smiled and waited for her defensive explanation.

"That mah wife's washboard 'gain?" came a voice I wasn't expecting, and ice ran through my veins. I turned to see Ed towering over me, standing way too close for comfort.

"She's letting me borrow it for this bit of laundry," I answered. I looked behind him to verify that I was completely alone with him. I turned back to the laundry, hurrying what I had left and swallowing my fear.

"Could you give me some space, Ed?" I asked, hoping the man would back off. The air was buzzing with tension as I kept my eyes on the laundry, waiting for something.

My head was jerked back as Ed grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled. I fell back from crouching over the bucket and onto my hands as I yelled out.

"Next time you need anything…" Ed began, yanking my hair with each syllable, as I grabbed at his hand. He then stopped talking, and stepped back a bit. There was a sound from the trees to the left and I whipped my head to where Ed was looking. Expecting a walker, I was surprised to see the younger redneck brother stalking into the clearing.

Ed threw my hair from his grasp and spat right next to me, then stalked away, never looking at Daryl.

Daryl watched him go as I collected the laundry, my heart in my throat.

"Y'alright?" he questioned from the edge of the clearing as I stood up.

"Just superb." I began making my way to the camp, Daryl following. I offered him a smile, trying to act normal while I was shaking in my hypothetical boots.

Once we arrived at the campsite Daryl went to his tent.

I began hanging up the clothes to dry, my hands trembling. Glenn and Heidi were sitting on the ground next to the tree, shaded from the midday sun.

"I don't get why he would go," Heidi said.

"I'm just glad T-Dog's coming. I was afraid Merle was going to try to kill me," Glenn gave a shaky laugh.

I receded into my thoughts while doing the mundane action of lifting and hanging, the washboard gleaming in the sunlight, mocking me.

XXXXXX

Glenn, T-Dog, and Merle left in the afternoon. Heidi grew increasingly impatient as time went on. Glenn had assured us that the run would only take about an hour. Just the quick drive to the gas station they had picked, whatever time it took to gather what they could, then they'd come right back. "In and out." Glenn had repeated.

When the hour mark came and went, the camp grew restless. Heidi had started pacing back and forth while the other women began to prepare dinner.

I grabbed her arm and began leading her to the quarry.

"What could have happened?" she fretted, asking no one in particular.

"They probably just got caught up somewhere, and had to wait it out."

"Caught up?" Heidi nearly screeched. "Why doesn't Shane send someone to go for them?"

"I don't know, there's not that many people left here to send," I theorized. It was true. Besides, with the exception of Shane and Daryl, the men left at the camp didn't seem to offer much protection.

"I would go," Heidi mumbled.

"Be logical Heidi," I replied. We had reached the water just as the sun began to dip below the trees, the sky turning shades of orange and pink. I toed off my Converse and ripped my socks off.

"What are you doing?" Heidi looked at me, incredulous.

"I'm all sweaty. Come on," I said, taking off my T-shirt.

"Be logical, Emmy," Heidi quoted me, "think of all the gross things in there."

"Heidi, are you scared of the big bad swamp monster?" I jested, throwing my shorts at her and backing towards the water.

"Emmy. Snakes, bugs, fish, sharks." She listed, ticking them off on her fingers.

"Sharks?" I repeated, the water up to my knees. Heidi only rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I bet you ten dollars none of those things are in here."

"You're making a bet?" Heidi exclaimed, shocked. She was always the one who made the bets, and she usually won, too. I nodded and Heidi looked to the water, weighing the pros and cons.

She sat down to take her boots off, taking her time with the laces. I floated on my back in the waist deep water, gazing up at the clouds that were shaded the colors of the sunset.

Heidi whimpered as she made her way into the water very slowly, holding her arms up.

"Are you wearing Hello Kitty underwear?" I asked, sinking from my floating.

"I was very flustered when I packed," Heidi retorted.

Eventually, she made her way to me and eased her body into the water.

She looked at me and gave me a small smile, "It's nice."

"See!" I cried out. Heidi laid out on the top of the water like me. We stayed that way, drifting on our backs close to the beach.

I looked over to see Heidi's eyes closed, and soundlessly went under the water. I swam under her, reaching up to grab her ankle. Heidi's body flailed, kicking me as she bolted out of the water. I came up in hysterics, Heidi cursing the whole time. I followed her out of the water, the sky now a dark purple. We got dressed, me laughing and Heidi glaring.

When we made it to the camp, Heidi's previous anxiety returned.

XXXXXXX

I turned over for what had to be the thousandth time that night. Heidi had worried all evening, and then wordlessly went to the tent. When I came in after helping Lori and Carol clean up after dinner, she was passed out in her sleeping bag. The bottle of Ambien sticking out of the duffle pocket confirmed my suspicions.

No matter what I tried I could not sleep. My mind replayed what had happened by the quarry with Ed. I was more than thankful that Daryl had showed up, but I was afraid it made me look even more helpless. He probably thought of me as head case that still got nightmares and I could bet Merle told him about my seemingly abundance of pills.

My mind was running a mile a minute, but I wasn't so sure I wanted to sleep. I wanted to be awake when the three men got back. I was worried, even though I had assured Heidi that everything would be fine. I went over everything that could of possibly happened at that gas station.

I was having a hard time lying still, when my eyes caught the bottle of Jack Daniel's sticking haphazardly out of my duffle. I stared at it for more than a few minutes. As ridiculous as the thought was, I grabbed the bottle out of the bag.

"Heidi," I whispered, hoping to god that she would answer, "You awake?" Nothing came but the sound of her deep breathing. The girl was out cold. I contemplated waking her up, but decided against it after recalling the time she didn't talk to me for a day after I had woken her up after a night out.

I sighed and sat up, contemplating my options. _Dale had watch. _I pulled on my shoes and made my way out the tent quietly, so I could keep the old man company. I stood by the coals of the fire and looked up to the RV, and saw Jim sitting in the chair. Jim had second watch, so that meant it was later than midnight. Although he seemed nice enough, Jim was pretty awkward and I didn't really feel like trying to talk to him. I stood there for what felt like forever, realizing the stupidity of what I was doing.

I took a look around the camp, feeling pathetic, and saw the light shining in the redneck's tent. Not knowing what had come over me, I made my way over towards the area.

I stopped a few feet away from the tent, not knowing what I was getting myself into. A small battle played out in my head, contemplating what I was doing. Before I could change my mind I reached down and grabbed a small rock and tossed it at the tent. The moment it left my hands I regret it. It made a soft noise and plopped to the ground. I could see a shadow in the tent moving.

I backed away, hoping he didn't hear it. The tent flap was whipped open and Daryl made his way out.

"Wha'," he asked, looking me over. I panicked as he eyed me, not knowing what I was doing.

"I'm sorry if you were sleeping," I said, starting to back away, swallowing my humility.

"What's that," he questioned, pointing to the bottle half hidden behind me.

I pulled it out and looked at it like I had never seen it before.

Gathering up the courage I stepped forward, "I couldn't sleep, and your light was on, so I, uh," I was at a loss for words as Daryl continued to stare at me like I was insane, which I more than likely was.

Daryl smirked and stepped aside, propping open the tent flap with his arm, gesturing me to go inside. A small victory was won in my head as I made my way into the foreign territory.

XXXXXXX

"McDonald's chicken nuggets," I said. Daryl scoffed at me and I just shrugged my shoulders as I took a pull from the whiskey, grimacing.

"Hot showers," he said. I nodded my head rapidly.

I don't know about Daryl, but I was pretty drunk. I didn't intend to drink myself stupid when we started drinking, but the boy could drink, and I was just trying to be a good sport and participate.

I sighed, thinking. "Air conditioning."

"Never had it," he said.

"What?" I sat up on my elbow to look at him.

"We had an ol' cabin," he explained. The silence hung in the air as Daryl lived out some memory. I sat there, feeling over privileged, because no matter where I had lived, it was always air-conditioned.

"Your turn," I said, lying back down on his cot. We were listing the things we miss most about the old world.

"Cold beer," he replied. I smiled in appreciation.

"Music," I said after a minute. I couldn't help but feel that Daryl didn't really relate to anything I was saying.

I could feel myself starting to drift off to sleep, my pauses becoming longer and longer in this little game we were playing.

It was silent for a few minutes. "Do you think they're okay?" I whispered.

"S'Merle. He can get through anythin'," his answer was enough to ease my worry.

XXXXXXX

_Heidi and I were swimming in the quarry, floating near the middle of it. It was silent, the water unmoving. _

_ There was a ripple in the water, and I looked over to see a shark fin coming at us at a rapid speed. _

_ "Heidi," I nudged her, unsure of my eyes. The fin started circling us. _

_"Hmm." Heidi mumbled._

_ I tried to warn her or grab her, but it was too late. The shark surfaced and took a chunk out of Heidi's neck. I screamed and swam away, the shark chasing me. It then grabbed my hair and as I turned around the shark morphed into Ed, and he pulled me under the water. I was struggling with it, the air leaving me as he pulled me deeper and deeper, the light getting thinner. Then someone grabbed my arm and pulled me up. The arm had no sleeves, the tan arms lean and strong._

XXXXXX

My eyes shot open, facing the wall of an unfamiliar tent. There was an arm draped over my waist, the same arm as the one in the nightmare. The events of last night came at me in quick flashes, then blurred near the end. I was fairly certain the night had ended when I fell asleep during our little game.

I eased around Daryl, trying not to wake him, but failing. His sat up next to me as I rubbed my pounding head.

"Shit," Daryl mumbled.

I began scooting off the cot, accidentally kicking the Jack Daniel's bottle in the process. I picked it up, looking through the empty bottle. "Good god, we drank a lot."

"Good ta know ya can hang," Daryl smirked, bending down to put his boots on.

"Something like that," I said as I slipped my shoes on. I stood up, not knowing what to say next. A commotion outside saved me.

As we exited the tent we saw the group gathered around something.

"Then, when our luck couldn't get any worse, my piece of shit car broke down," said Glenn's voice. I came between Carol and Amy to see all three men whole and healthy, although empty handed.

As Glenn and T-Dog finished their story, Heidi made her way over to me.

"Looks like your Romeo is home," I whispered to her, as her smile moved from Glenn to me.

"My Romeo?" Heidi asked, looking from Daryl to me, a smirk on her face.

"Say Nothing," I threatened, my headache becoming a steady pulsing.

"You dog, you."


	6. Chapter 6

Glenn had been finishing with his tale of their attempted supply run when I had walked up, so I had to annoy Heidi to retell it. We sat on the bank of the quarry, as the sun grew higher in the sky.

Apparently they had gotten to the gas station just fine, to find that it had been completely looted, wielding only a few bags of chips and some water. They found that they were not alone, as they had gathered the attention of about five walkers. Merle of course wanted to take care of the problem then and there, but instead only managed to attract a few more. They had been forced to remain in the building, waiting for something else to draw the undead away. When that had finally happened it was dawn, and they began the small journey back to the quarry. Then Glenn's car had died almost a minute into the drive, so they had to hoof it back to camp.

Heidi sat and waited, letting it sink in.

"So what distracted the walkers?" I finally asked.

Heidi looked taken aback by my response, "Didn't say," she looked at me questioningly. "Why does it matter, they got out of there."

"I know, it's just that it could have been someone else," I began.

Heidi sighed and turned to face me, the familiar look of 'older sister Heidi' on her face. "Em, you can't think that way anymore, okay?"

"How?" I asked, annoyed by her treating me like a child.

"I know how you are," she began, ignoring the look on my face, "you think in what ifs. You've got to start thinking in the here and now," she forcefully stated, pointing to the ground.

She seemed to have finished her small lecture, and I just scoffed. "Gee, thanks Dr. Phil," I returned my gaze to the water, rippling by a slight breeze.

She smiled unapologetically. We both sat in silence for a few minutes, watching a bird sweeping down to the water, then fly back up just as quick.

"So, where did ya go last night?" she questioned, trying to sound innocent. I couldn't ignore the hint of laughter that was in her voice.

"Couldn't sleep."

"What did you do all night?" I could see that she had a full-blown smile on her face now, although she tried hiding it by looking away towards the trees.

"Nothing, Heidi," I sighed exasperated.

"The bottle of Jack is gone."

"That's my bottle, I can do what I want with it," I defended.

"I bet the redneck just loved your choice in booze," she turned to me, a grin stretching from ear to ear.

I ignored her for a while, letting her smile fade as I looked across the water. "He drank it like it was water," I whispered after a few moments. Heidi let out a laugh that I'm surprised didn't scare all the birds in the area away.

"What's so funny?" Glenn's voice called out.

"Me." I answered as he took a seat on the other side of Heidi.

"Yeah, it was one of those rare occasions," Heidi shot me a smile.

"So did I miss anything last night?" Glenn questioned.

Heidi started to giggle, so I took it upon myself to answer him. "Nope. Nothing happened at all." This resulted in only more laughing and a very confused Glenn. I could only shrug at him, as if I wasn't in on the joke either. "So, everyone's alright?" I asked Glenn, changing the subject.

"Yeah, but we're gonna have to go out again, which sucks," Glenn stated, looking to his palms.

"You don't have to go, Glenn," Heidi began. I could see the anger boiling inside her, "You know if hillbilly hell raiser weren't there, you guys would have been back here last night."

I looked past Heidi to Glenn, who seemed to find his palms really interesting. "He actually was helpful," he barely whispered, peeking up to Heidi.

She snorted, "And how is that?"

"It's like he was built for this world," Glenn finally looked up to us, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'm not saying he's not a pain in the ass, but I think I would want him in my corner in the zombie apocalypse," his voice trailed off.

I got up, intending to leave what was about to be a Heidi shit storm. Glenn looked to me helplessly, and I only offered a small apologetic shrug.

"And how likely is it that you'll get the racist redneck in your corner?" I heard Heidi start, as I retreated into the trees, away from conflict. Conflict was not good for my head at the moment.

It may have been awhile, but I was going to have to resort to my mental checklist that I went through every time a hangover struck.

I moved towards the RV, avoiding Jim's stares along the way. As far as I knew Heidi and him were the only ones who knew about Daryl and my little party last night, and I preferred to keep it that way.

I knocked on the already open door, and made my way up the steps. Once assured that the RV was empty I made my way to the cupboard to grab the bottle of aspirin. I put aside my preference for ibuprofen as I swallowed the pills dry and returned the bottle to its home.

My next step would usually be some form of a greasy breakfast, but after searching the dwindling supply of food the camp had, I resorted to a very unappetizing looking can of green beans.

After opening it and grabbing a fork, I made my way towards the outside world. I stopped in the doorway of the RV to watch the people that I have been stuck with for over a week. I observed while I ate the bland meal. I watched Lori fussing over Carl's hair and Shane walking by to mess it up. Carols meek smile to Jacqui, who seemed to always be at the woman's side. T-Dog was sitting with Dale, rehashing his night earning the occasional chuckle from the old man. The others were out of sight, either in their tents or somewhere beyond the trees.

I moved my gaze to the far left, to the brothers' tent. I could only guess what happened beyond that tent flap, but I found myself wondering.

XXXXXXXX

That evening we sat around the campfire as usual, the only difference being the portions of food that were getting smaller and smaller. Daryl's hunting contributions that used to be a small side to accompany our dinner were now becoming the majority of the meal. It took some time to get used to the gamey taste of the meat, but in the end everything tastes like chicken and fills the empty void of our stomachs that was perpetually getting larger.

The need for more supplies was becoming essential, and when Dale brought out pen and paper to make a "grocery list" for the next run, everyone started shouting out necessary supplies.

"Batteries!" T-Dog shouted.

"We need soap for laundry," Jacqui stated. This was received with a chorus of agreements from all the women.

"Pillows!" Heidi all but yelled. Everyone halted his or her brainstorming to look at her. "My neck hurts," she defensively explained.

When the list was complete Dale read aloud everything. The length of the list was daunting as the urgency for most of these supplies was realized.

With the strange variety of items on the list it was decided that the best place to obtain a lot of these things would be a department store. Glenn again offered himself for the job, along with Merle and T-Dog, but the size of the list required more volunteers.

"I'll go," Jacqui said after a moment, smiling reassuringly at everyone who looked at her questionably.

After a minute talking to his wife, Morales offered his assistance.

"I'll go too," Andrea declared suddenly. Both Amy and Dale started their protests but Andrea quickly held up a finger. "I can handle myself," she reassured them.

"I'll come," Heidi stated, avoiding my stare.

"If she's going I am too," I said with finality. An awkward silence filled the circle of campers.

"Now, now. Six is enough girls. We don't need the whole camp going," Shane stated, interrupting the silence.

Heidi and I slowly nodded our heads, feeling like the camp children.

XXXXX

That night Heidi and I didn't do our usual nightly ritual of rehashing the day. We sat in silence, staring up at the canvas ceiling we had grown used to. I knew Heidi was thinking the same thing as me, that we were basically useless in this camp of survivors.

I heard Heidi sigh and turn over in her sleeping bag, sensing a restless night in store for the both of us.

XXXX

That morning the camp was buzzing with nerves. Shane and the group that was going on the run were huddled around the list, deep in discussion. When the time came the campers gave their well wishes. I noticed how everyone avoided saying the word goodbye.

"Be safe, okay?" Heidi told Glenn as she eyed Merle.

"I will," Glenn assured, giving Heidi and I a big smile as he got into the passenger seat of the car. After Morales hugged his family and Andrea reassured Amy and Dale, they were pulling away from the camp.

Everyone slowly tried to go about his or her daily camp chores. Dale had watch atop the RV while Jim was working on the old camper, Shane was building a tarp for the firewood, Heidi was with Miranda watching the kids, and Daryl was brooding in his tent as usual.

Everyone seemed to have something to do except for me, and I was bored. With a farfetched idea, I made my way over to the forbidden zone.

I cautiously approached Daryl's tent, where he was sitting on his cot, crossbow in his lap. I ducked into the tent, catching him off guard, earning a vicious glare from him.

"Come on," I said, offering my hand.

"What," he said flatly, clearly not in the mood for games. I reached forward and grabbed his hand, pulling with no success. "Stop," he complained.

"Just, get up?" I sighed, exasperated, only receiving a scowl. "Please?" I tried.

After a more than a few painful moments Daryl seemed to realize that I wasn't leaving, so he finally got up and I pulled him out of the tent.

"The hell are ya goin'?" he asked as he ripped his hand from me, but still followed me along the little trail to the water. I simply ignored his protests and kept moving towards the quarry.

When we broke through the trees we were greeted with the glass-like water lying still in the particularly hot day. The little beach was empty except for the two of us.

Sucking up as much courage as I could find, I made my way down to the water, stepping off my shoes and pulling off my socks, ignoring the confused glare I knew was boring into my back.

I turned to him, "Come on," I urged as he looked at me with mistrust and annoyance. I mustered up all the courage I could and pulled off my tank top, turning to face the water to hide the embarrassment that came with taking my shirt off in broad daylight, in front of him nonetheless. I quickly glanced behind me to see Daryl's eyes on the trees to the side as I unbuttoned my shorts, kicking them into the little pile that was my clothes. I had a brief moment to realize that I was wearing _that_ pair of underwear, and swallowed my humiliation. I looked over my shoulder at him, standing with his hands in his pockets looking at me uncertainly.

I made my way into the cool water and turned around to look at him.

"Are ya scared," I taunted, remembering Heidi's irrational fear of the body of water.

"I'm not gettin' in," He said stubbornly.

"Chicken shit," I said, kicking water at him and backing up, the water rising above my knees. He just stood there, slowly shaking his head and glowering.

"Unless you can't swim?" I said, water up to my waist now.

"Can swim," he responded, giving me one of his best glares.

"Doesn't look like it from here," I said, submerging myself in the water. I could see Daryl weighing his options before toeing off his boots and pulling off his socks. Another victory was won in my head as I once again witnessed the hick doing something completely uncharacteristic.

"This is stupid," he said, his country twang turning harsh as he pulled off his shirt, making his way to the water. I took in the fine piece of art that was his upper body, lean muscle under tan, dirty skin.

"God dammit, Emmy," He grumbled, unbuttoning his jeans and making his way to the water.

I slowly waded away from him as he trudged deeper towards me. We waded in the chilly water, Daryl looking at the surrounding cliff faces of the quarry and I at him.

In an abnormally childish moment I dipped my head under, coming up with water in my mouth, which I then squirted at him. With the flick of a wrist he splashed me, still irritated. I laughed and kicked my legs, water splashing at him. He immediately dove towards me, pushing his arms together making two giant walls of water meet at my face. I gasped for breath as I saw his pulling back his arms to create another wave, a rare small smile playing at his lips. I ducked under the water and swam towards him to come up behind him to dunk him under the water he was wading in. He came up sputtering, grabbing for me as I swam away. He caught hold of my foot and pulled me back towards him, pushing me under. The move was unexpected and I came up coughing, gasping for air.

His initial joy of drowning me wore off and he grabbed me quickly, pulling me up by the arms.

"Ya okay?" he asked, a hint of concern lining his face. I nodded as I regained my breath.

I looked up and he was looking directly at my face, almost scrutinizing it. I squirmed under the attention, still in his vice-like grip, and sunk lower into the water. Out of nowhere, his hand slowly came up and his thumb lightly grazed the raised pink scar that slashed brutally across my forehead. The water had moved my bangs aside, exposing the hideous reminder.

He then leaned forward and kissed the ugly scar. I twitched my head back, embarrassed of the mark and started by the uncharacteristic affection. I was confused, and had no idea what was going on in his head.

We stared at each other for what felt like days, but was more than likely seconds, before Daryl moved in again, this time aiming for my lips. My breath caught as I was once again caught off guard by him. I eventually kissed him back, my arms moving his towards me, pulling him closer.

Daryl's footing slipped and we both plunged into the water. I came up laughing with Daryl glowered once again. We both stood up and there was a second where it looked like the moment had ended, as Daryl looked away towards the beach. I then stepped forward and pushed up on my tiptoes, kissing Daryl again. He leaned down and wrapped his hands around me, deepening the kiss. One of my hands founds its way up his neck and into his hair as the other went over his chest, moving up and over the muscles and scars. Daryl's hands gripped my backside, pulling my hips into his as his tongue pushed its way into my mouth.

We remained tangled like that, the kiss intensifying then stopping abruptly as we heard voices approaching. I looked up to see Lori and Carol making their way down the path, heaps of laundry in their arms. I pushed away from Daryl, putting space between us as they caught sight of us. Lori waved as both women exchanged glances and set the wash down at the edge of the water.

Daryl quickly trudged up the beach to grab his clothes and disappear into the trees. I was left alone to awkwardly get dressed, getting a couple awkward smiles from the women.

"We were just swimming," I reassured them.

"Oh, yeah," Lori said a little too eagerly.

I made my way to my tent, avoiding looking at redneck's section of the camp.

XXXXX

After a while everyone became more and more antsy. Time was passing slowly and everyone was getting concerned for the five campers.

It was about late afternoon when we heard T-Dog's static voice over the radio. Everyone rushed towards the RV while Dale climbed on top of it to grab the receiver.

"We're trapped at the department store!" was heard among the static and fuzz. Amy ran forward and Heidi and I exchanged frantic looks.

"There's geeks all over the place. Hundreds of them. We're surrounded," T-Dog's voice stated before cutting out completely. The camp was silent with panic while Dale twisted and turned the dials.

"They said the department store," Lori began, her wide eyes focused on Shane. Heidi grabbed tight onto my arm while my heart sunk into my stomach.

"I heard it too," Dale said, confirming the obvious.

There was a moment of calculated silence.

"Shane..." Lori began, stepping towards him.

"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that." Heidi's grip had stopped the blood flow to my hand.

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy started, betrayal on her face.

"Amy I know that this is not easy," Shane started, slowly approaching Amy.

"She volunteered to go. To help the rest of us!" Amy bluntly stated.

"I know. She knew the risks, right?" Shane asked. Next to me Heidi let out a quiet gasp. "See if she's trapped, she's gone." The campers had a mixture of shock and sadness on their faces. "There's nothing we can do."

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch." Amy uttered before running off.

Shane looked to Lori, and I knew immediately that I had lost the sick bet with Heidi about Shane and Lori. Lori began following Amy, and the camp was again filled with silence.

Morales family retreated to their tent, Eliza already sobbing. Heidi walked away in the direction of the tent while I sat down heavily on one of the makeshift chairs.

The situation was sinking in. There was no help, no refugee center. We were completely on our own out here.


End file.
